


Protect the Children

by MistBorn_SprenDeath



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: :), Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Half Endermen Ranboo, He gets the nickname Blink because I think it's cute, I guess that one's a bit important, L'Manberg is a crater down to bedrock, Me vicariously living through Wilbur, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Protective Wilbur Soot, Ranboo needs a hug, Redemption Arc for Wilbur, Resurrected Wilbur Soot, Run Away, Technoblade denying family, Toby Smith | Tubbo Needs a Hug, Tommyinnit needs a hug, Wilbur fights Philza, Wilbur fights Technoblade, Wilbur with a bow, Wilbur with a sword, protect the children, redemption arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28660272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistBorn_SprenDeath/pseuds/MistBorn_SprenDeath
Summary: Wilbur grinned, and coughed a few times, the apple working quickly to try and mend his injuries, but it wasn’t enough. Distantly he could hear Tommy's shouting, but that wasn't where his focus was right now. At this rate he'd probably pass out due to blood loss before he ever beat Technoblade, but Wilbur couldn't let the man get to Tommy.This was all for Tommy.He could care less if he died here, but he couldn't leave Tommy defenseless and alone. Not again."Come on, Wilbur." Technoblade held out his hand, as if offering it for Wilbur to take. "You don't have to die again. Just hand Tommy over."Wilbur found himself laughing. "You don't understand, do you, Technoblade?"Readjusting his stance, Wilbur leaned forward. "I don't care about anything except for Tommy anymore. If that means dying, then I'll do it over and over again." Tugging out his bow, Wilbur began firing arrows. "You never seemed to understand, Technoblade. "
Relationships: Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Tubbo & Ranboo
Comments: 53
Kudos: 1372
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Protect the Children

Tubbo supported Tommy, trying to help the blonde stand even in spite of Tommy’s torn up leg. Ranboo’s eyes were wide still, looking shell-shocked. 

“W-Wil?” Tubbo stumbled to a stop, and Tommy cursed as they both flailed momentarily for balance. 

With a bitter smile, Wilbur lifted his two very solid arms. “The one and only.” Why was being a ghost so much easier? He wasn’t burdened with memories of what he’d done as a specter.

“Wilbur!” Tommy hobbled forward as best he could, dragging Tubbo along with him in his excitement. “H-How-?!”

Wrapping his younger brother in a hug, he took Tommy from Tubbo, mentally cataloging the injuries he could see. “You shouldn’t be walking around on that leg, Toms.” Looking up at the other two boys, Wilbur frowned. “ Tubbo, have you had that head injury looked at? And, Ranboo, what happened to your arm?”

Eyes watery, Tubbo shook his head no slowly, “Er, no. We’ve been-” He hesitated for a moment. “We’ve been hiding. Tommy’s leg was the worst of our injuries and Ranboo...” Tubbo trailed off, glancing at the Enderman hybrid.

“I got caught in some water.” The tall boy offered weakly.

Wilbur felt his breath catch in his throat. Ranboo probably had severe burns under that wrapping. “Who- Who are you hiding from? Hasn’t anyone been trying to help you?”

Tubbo gave a thin grin. “Dream and Technoblade teamed up, Wilbur...and Philza…”

Grumbling into Wilbur’s shoulder, Tommy’s hold on his older brother tightened as he muttered, “Phil always chooses Technoblade.”

In response, Wilbur felt his own grip tighten on Tommy. “You’re- You’re  _ kids _ . Has- Has no one stopped to remember that?”

“We can’t afford to be right now, Wilbur.” Ranboo spoke softly, and Wilbur felt something in his heart burn. 

Children. They were  _ children _ . Children are meant to be  _ protected _ and  _ safe _ . Looking at the three kids in front of him his heart broke a little. They didn’t look like they had been  _ protected _ or  _ safe _ . They were hurt and alone.

Wilbur shook his head angrily,“Being a kid isn’t something that you should have to _give_ _away_. It isn’t something that should have been _taken_ from you.” He had done this. Not all of it, but he had started it. Dragging children into wars and government. “This is a war that has taken too much from you.”

Stumbling forward, Tubbo held his hands to his chest, as if nervous. “What are we supposed to do, Wilbur? This is our  _ home _ . We can’t- We can’t just  _ leave _ it.”

“Is it really a home when we’re scared of it?” Ranboo’s voice sounded hollow and dull. Wilbur couldn’t stand for this.

“You can.” Wilbur held out his free hand to Tubbo. “Leave, that is. You’re supposed to feel  _ safe _ in a home, Tubbo. And I’m so sorry that L’Manberg stopped being home.”

Tubbo collapsed into his chest, and Wilbur felt another twinge of guilt that he forced away. He couldn’t change what had happened in the past. But he could change their present. Ranboo looked nervously at the three of them, shifting as if he were uncomfortable and intruding. 

“Come here, Ranboo. You can get in on the hug action too.” Wilbur offered the endermen hybrid the biggest smile he could manage. “You are allowed to be safe.”

Those words seemed to be all it took, and Ranboo caved, shuffling closer until he was wedged between Tommy and Tubbo. It was by no means a comfortable hug, but Wilbur didn’t care too much about that. They could feel him, he was  _ there _ , and that’s what mattered.

Setting his chin on top of Tommy’s head, Wilbur sighed. “We need to get you a healing potion. All of you.”

Tubbo pulled away, protesting. “We don’t have the supplies for a healing potion, and even if we did, we can’t just waste them, Wilbur.”

Another little piece of his heart splintered. “Tubbo, healing is not a waste.  _ Your healing _ is  _ never _ a waste of supplies.” 

The shorter boy didn’t look convinced but he nodded anyways.

“Where are we supposed to go now?” Tommy muttered into his shoulder, grip only tightening. 

The other two boys tensed, and Wilbur was beginning to hate everything that had lead to this moment.

Waving his hand in the direction of the crater, Tubbo frowned. “We obviously can’t go back to L’Manberg.”

“And everyone else’s bases are probably off the table too if we don’t want to be attacked.” Ranboo added, shuffling awkwardly away from the hug.

Why was it so hard for everyone to see the damage they had done to these kids? It was a bit hypocritical for Wilbur to think, but his chest burned at the thought. “We’ll leave.”

“What?” Tommy looked up at him, eyes wide.

Tubbo protested, arms being thrown in the air. “We- We can’t just  _ leave _ !”

But Ranboo stared into Wilbur’s eyes and seemed to widen in realization. “Oh. You want to take us somewhere safe. You’re not choosing sides. You’re choosing us.”

Wilbur remembered when he, as Ghostbur, had first heard Ranboo talking about choosing sides. It resonated in his chest. “You shouldn’t have to  _ fight _ to have a home. It doesn’t matter who I’ve had my past grievances with, you should be  _ safe _ .” 

Tommy and Tubbo looked stunned for a moment. 

Ranboo looked at him with stars in his eyes. 

“Children should be  _ protected _ .” Wilbur spoke softly, but there was an iron to his voice that he knew the boys recognized. “You  _ deserve _ to be safe.”

“Wh-Where are we supposed to go?” Tubbo wrung his hands nervously.

Wilbur looked between the three of them. “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?” The surprised looks on their faces stung, but Wilbur quickly moved past that.

“U-Um, I’ve always wanted to live in a flower biome.” Tubbo offered after a moment of silence. “And I kind of wanted to live in the desert.” Ranboo added on.

Wilbur nodded, before looking down at the brother in his arms. “What about you, Toms?”

Tommy didn’t say anything for a moment, but when he finally spoke it was softer than Wilbur had ever heard it when he was alive. “I’ve only ever wanted to be home.”

Something in his chest tugged and pulled sorrowfully, but Wilbur quickly pushed it aside and nodded. “Then I guess we’re going to go look for a flower biome next to a desert.”

“O-Oh, we don’t have to,” Ranboo stuttered, “I mean, if we can’t find-”

Wilbur shook his head, and laughed. “No, no. We’re going to find it. And if we can’t, then we’re going to make our own flower biome sitting right next to a desert.”

The look returned to Ranboo’s face, those stars in his eyes. “Oh.”

Tubbo looked excited. “We can gather flowers on our trip so that we can plant them if we need to! Oh! And-! And-! We can build with oak and cobblestone because that’s Tommy’s favorite!” The kid was practically buzzing with excitement, almost like a little bee.

“C-Could we also use some sandstone?” Ranboo asked slowly.

This time Tommy was the one to respond. “Of course, Big man! And we’ll be sure to pick up a lot of sand!” Leaning away from Wilbur, he whispered conspiratorially, “Just make sure not to have Wilbur carry any. He has a nasty habit of eating it for a snack.”

The look of horror on Ranboo’s face made the three of them burst into laughter. “What? Why would you  _ eat _ sand?”

“Yeah, he’s not as amazing as you first thought.” Tommy snickered, and Wilbur cracked a small smile.

This is what kids were supposed to act like. Though looking again at their ragged clothes and wounds, he frowned. They still looked like war refugees. He paused. They technically were at this point.

Carefully helping Tommy to sit down, Wilbur leaned back, hands on his hips. “We need to get you three a change of clothes and a round of healing potions.”

“Where are we going to get that?” Tubbo asked, falling down to sit beside Tommy.

Wilbur hummed. “Excellent question.” Riffling through his inventory, Wilbur smiled when he saw the golden apples. “I have a partial solution to one of these problems.”

When he pulled out the golden apples all three of the boys gaped at him.

Quickly taking one, Tommy stared at the golden fruit before looking up at Wilbur. “Where and when did you get gapples, Wilbur?”

Shrugging, Wilbur handed Tubbo and Ranboo one each. “I don’t know. I think it was part of the resurrection ritual they did? I’m still not quite sure.”

Tubbo glanced up, a furrow in his brow. “Who?”

“What?”

Sitting down beside the other two, Ranboo clarified. “You said that someone did a ritual.” The endermen hybrid took a bit out of the apple before asking, “Who was it?”

Thinking back, Wilbur couldn’t remember much of the past few days. “I-I’m not sure. But they did give me this.” He whipped out the enchanted netherite blade, and the boys all stiffened. Curse this Notch forsaken war. “Which means I’ll be able to make sure you three are all safe.”

Tommy protested, getting up shakily. “We can defend ourselves, Wil.”

Hefting his own shimmering blade, Tubbo stood beside his taller friend. “We know how to fight.”

Wilbur nodded, sheathing the blade with a sad smile. “I never said you couldn’t.” He tossed another apple to Tommy. “Be sure to eat another one, that leg still looks pretty bad.”

“A-Are we going to tell anyone?” Ranboo asked nervously, flicking between the apple Wilbur had given him and a shimmering sword.

Pausing, Wilbur turned to face the kid. “Do you want to tell anyone?” In the corner of his eye he saw Tubbo and Tommy both shaking their heads, but he was focusing on Ranboo right now. “If you want to tell someone, or say goodbye, I’m not going to stop you, Ranboo. I  _ will _ , however, keep you safe.”

The half endermen seemed to relax. “So if I wanted to say bye to Philza and Technoblade?” The kid fidgeting nervously, gave him a small smile. 

Wilbur felt his spine stiffen, but he nodded. “You can say bye to them. But if they try to force you to stay, I will step in.”

“A-And if I choose to stay?” Ranboo pressed, obviously searching for something.

Putting his hand on the kid’s shoulder, Wilbur gave him a small smile. “If you chose to stay, Ranboo, I’m not going to stop you. I don’t think you  _ should _ but I won’t force you to come with us.” Tapping the communicator that hung in a chain around his neck, Wilbur continued, “I won’t keep Tommy and Tubbo here, but if you would ever want to come find us, you’d just need to ask.” 

“Okay.” Ranboo’s voice was quiet, but the stars in his eyes were back. “Okay.” He repeated, blinking rapidly, as if to hold back tears. “I’m going to say goodbye to Philza Minecraft and Technoblade and then we’re going to find a place to build our own little flower biome and our own little desert.”

Opening his arms for a hug, Wilbur smiled as Ranboo walked forward into the embrace and buried his face in Wilbur’s shoulder. “Sounds perfect.”

“D-Do you want us to stay here?” 

Tommy fidgeted, and Wilbur frowned. “I’m not going to stop you from coming with us, Toms.” He turned and added, “Or you, Tubbo.”

The boys shared a glance, and seemed to come to an agreement. “We’ll come with you.” Tubbo spoke, shifting to hold a shield in his off hand. With a wince, Tommy took a step forward. “I-I might not be able to help all that much, but if you require someone to do some stabbin’-”

Wilbur cut him off with a worried grin, “I should call you?”

Nodding resolutely, Tommy stood taller. Wilbur could easily see the pain that his brother was trying to hide in the way Tommy’s eyes had a slight crease, his fingers trembled, but he nodded. “Tubbo, you’ll be sure that he doesn’t come to do some stabbing unless I request it?”

Tubbo gave him a shaky grin. “Y-Yeah.”

“Then let’s go say goodbye.” 

-

It was startlingly easy to find Technoblade and Philza.

The two of them were running around like headless chickens, as if looking for something. Something angrily mused in his head,  _ or someone _ .

“Philza! Technoblade!” Ranboo called out, stumbling over rubble within the crater, but waving with a bright smile on his face. 

The pair looked up, and Wilbur felt his chest tighten as his heart rate picked up.

They were  _ supposed _ to protect Tommy.

“Ranboo!” Philza hurried over to the hybrid, though his hurrying was more graceful and less of a scrabble. “We weren’t certain where you had gotten to, mate!”

With an awkward laugh, Ranboo gave the man a hug. “I wasn’t quite sure where I had gotten to either until Wilbur found me!”

Philza froze, and Technoblade caught sight of them. 

“Wilbur!” Ranboo waved him over.

Making sure he was in between Philza and the two boys behind him, Wilbur carefully stepped over the rubble and made his way over.

Philza smiled brightly, and laughed. “Wilbur, mate! We thought we’d lost you!”

What?

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised, Phil.” Technoblade approached, coming up behind to stand beside Philza’s side. “He wasn’t quite lucid when we performed the ritual.”

Ritual?

Were they the ones who had-?

It didn’t matter.

They  _ left _ Tommy.

“Yes well,” Wilbur gave them a smile, though he knew it wasn’t a warm one, “Ranboo just wanted to come say farewell. We’re off to better places.”

“What?” Philza frowned. “What about L’Manberg, Wil? I thought you-”

Cutting the man off, Wilbur dropped the smile, “Yes, well I’d appreciate it if you dropped your assumptions.”

Ranboo shifted nervously, looking between the two of them. “Wilbur, you meant what you said, right?”

Looking to the hybrid, Wilbur saw the panic. The kid didn’t want to have to pick a side. “Of course, Ranboo. I meant every word of what I said. I’m not going to stop you, or turn against you. You get to make the choice.”

Ranboo gave him a shaky smile, and nodded. “Okay.” Instead of turning to join Philza and Technoblade like he had anticipated, Ranboo hurried to stand beside him. Wilbur looked to the kid, eyes wide. “Wait, Ranboo. You still want to-?”

Blinking in surprise, Ranboo looked back. “You thought I was going to stay? And-” The stars returned. “You still were going to let me make the choice.”

“Of course.” Wilbur nodded, still startled. “I promised didn’t I?” He had expected Ranboo to want to stay given how the conversation had been turning. 

“That’s really touching,” Technoblade drawled, and Wilbur stiffened again. “But I’m afraid that Tommy, well,” The piglin hybrid shrugged, as if he weren’t talking about  _ giving up _ their brother. “We’re going to need you to turn him over to us. Dream’s been looking for him.”

He’s our  _ brother _ .

Wilbur found that the words were spilling out before he could stop them. “I didn’t realize that three out of four turned into monsters.” He laughed, something bitter. “You’d have Tommy complete the set.” 

“Wil, you know that Dream-” Phil began.

Eyes blazing, Wilbur cut the man off. “I don’t  _ care _ what Dream has to say, _ Philza Minecraft _ ! I  _ really _ don’t! He’s hurt Tommy.” Breathing heavily, Wilbur straightened. “But you  _ knew _ that. You just don’t care.”

“Wilbur-” Tommy began, but Wilbur shook his head.

“No, Tommy. They have no excuse. They’re  _ supposed _ to be our family and they did nothing to stop him.” Wilbur’s fist clenched and unclenched. “I hurt you just as much as Dream did, but now I’m trying to  _ fix _ the mistakes I’ve made.” He made eye contact with Philza, and growled. “Not send you  _ straight to him _ .”

“Sacrifices  _ have _ to be made to keep the peace, Wilbur!” Philza threw his arms out, a furrow in his brow.

It was as if the tnt had gone off again, with the ringing static in his ears.

“Dream is the one breaking the peace.” He distantly heard himself hissing. “And you’d have me  _ sacrifice _ my  _ brother _ to feed that tyrant’s need to keep control of power.”

Technoblade pushed Philza behind him, tensing as he clearly recognized the tone in Wilbur’s voice. “We were never a family, Wilbur.”Those words rang clearly in the air, echoing off of every nook and cranny of the crater that used to be L’Manberg.

It was heart wrenching as he could practically hear Tommy’s heart shattering behind him. 

“Then I’m sure you won’t take any offense to this.”

Wilbur had never been one to physically fight before they had founded L’Manberg. Since then he had done nothing but fight. 

_ I can’t let them take Tommy _ .

His netherite blade met Technoblade’s shield with a loud crash, and he searched the man’s eyes for a familiar spark. All he saw was the spark of the renowned Technoblade’s bloodlust. 

“Wilbur!” Tommy shouted. 

Wilbur bit out, “Tubbo, don’t let him over here,” as he ducked under Technoblade’s sword with a hiss, cutting upward. “You need to keep Tommy safe!”

Growling, Technoblade leaned back, away from the swipe as he swung his sword in a half cut, aiming for Wilbur’s side. Right before it made impact, Technoblade switched it to a shovel. The sound of the netherite cracking against his ribs was the only clue as to how much damage that hit had caused.

The blunt hit sent Wilbur sideways, gasping suddenly for breath. 

Warily, Technoblade took a step back, still holding the shovel in his hand. “Give up, Wil.” He switched to his axe. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

A ragged laugh worked its way out of Wilbur’s chest as he stumbled to turn and face Technoblade again. “You don’t want to hurt me?” He winced at the pain that brought. “You’re doing a smashing job at that one, mate.” Once again, he lifted the sword and charged at Technoblade.

Their weapons met in a clash of sparks and netherite. 

Technoblade hadn’t even bothered to block the attack with his sheild. 

“You know what I mean, Wilbur.” He forced Wilbur away with a strong push against his sword. “Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.” Technoblade’s chest was heaving with energy, but Wilbur could see the trembling of the hybrid’s fingers on his axe.

Technoblade didn’t want to hurt him.

But he  _ didn’t _ care about Tommy.

Anger welled in his chest again. “You're supposed to  _ care _ about more than yourself, Technoblade!” Wilbur snarled, charging again.

The piglin hybrid snorted, easily deflecting Wilbur’s attack with his own sword, utilizing Wilbur’s momentum against him. “You think I don’t want this because you’ll  _ somehow _ hurt me?”

Wilbur found himself laughing again, despite the pain. “I could care  _ less _ if you were to get hurt, Technoblade.” He swung his sword again, and was satisfied to see how deeply the metal dug into the shield. “I just thought that you cared about more than yourself!” He swung again, the shield intercepting the blow with a shudder. “I thought that maybe we were brothers again.” Another slam and the wooden sheet splintered. “But I suppose I was wrong.”

Technoblade parried his next swing with ease, but Wilbur could see the startled look on the warrior’s face. He had apparently not foreseen the ferocity with which Wilbur would protect Tommy.

Why couldn’t Technoblade see it coming?

Why would Wilbur just  _ give Tommy up _ ?

Swinging the sword in an overcut, Wilbur grunted as Techno’s blade stopped the forward motion. With how close they were, it was easy for Technoblade to lift a knee to Wilbur’s stomach and smack his helmeted head into Wilbur’s unprotected head.

Wilbur was knocked to the ground, and he swore he could hear the ringing again.

He had lost the sword, but in his inventory he could see a bow and arrows. He munched on an apple before standing shakily. 

Wilbur grinned, and coughed a few times, the apple working quickly to try and mend his injuries, but it wasn’t enough. Distantly he could hear Tommy's shouting, but that wasn't where his focus was right now. At this rate he'd probably pass out due to blood loss before he ever beat Technoblade, but Wilbur couldn't let the man get to Tommy. 

This was all for Tommy. 

He could care less if he died here, but he couldn't leave Tommy defenseless and alone. Not again.

"Come on, Wilbur." Technoblade held out his hand, as if offering it for Wilbur to take. "You don't have to die again. Just hand Tommy over." 

Wilbur found himself laughing. "You don't understand, do you, Technoblade?" 

Readjusting his stance, Wilbur leaned forward. "I don't care about anything except for Tommy anymore. If that means dying, then I'll do it over and over again." Tugging out his bow, Wilbur began firing arrows. "You never seemed to understand, Technoblade. " 

Arrow, miss. "Tommy is what this all started for." 

Arrow, hit. Technoblade hissed as the arrow slipped between the plates of armor between his chest and his left arm. "And Tommy is the one I was supposed to be protecting from the beginning." 

Arrow,  _ clang _ . It bounced uselessly off of the anarchist's helmet. “I will die  _ a thousand times _ if it means protecting those boys.” He laughed hollowly. “I thought once you would have understood, but I suppose you never did.”

Arrow,  _ clang _ . The arrow pelted into Technoblade’s chestplate hard enough that Wilbur could see the slight dent. “I’ve been wrong a lot recently, haven’t I.”

Arrow, miss. 

Philza finally seemed inclined to join the fight, seeing as he stepped towards them in spite of their ongoing battle. “Wilbur, stop!" Philza Minecraft placed himself in between Wilbur’s bow and Technoblade.

Scowling, Wilbur drew the bow to full draw. "Step out of the way, Phil. I'm not ready to deal with you yet."

"Wilbur! Please-!" Tommy's shouting was getting louder. 

Glancing over his shoulder, Wilbur made eye contact with Tommy and smiled. "Don't worry 'bout it, Toms. You were always meant to be." Turning back, Wilbur loosed an arrow. It clipped Philza’s hat and  _ clanged _ uselessly off of Technoblade’s metal boot.

Philza’s own sword was drawn, and Wilbur could almost  _ feel _ the flash back coming on.

“No! Wilbur!”

Tommy’s panicked voice helped ground Wilbur in the present, and he found himself talking as he loosed another arrow that Philza deflected with his sword. “I’ll be back, Toms, I promise.”

The next arrow was aimed directly at Philza’s face, making it necessary for him the man to duck. “I won’t leave you behind ever again, Toms.”

Philza cursed, and rolled out of the way of Wilbur’s next arrow.

Almost too quick to see, Technoblade was there, protecting Philza from the arrow on slaught with another shield on arm. 

“Of course you’d have another shield.” Wilbur muttered to himself, watching as the piglin hybrid passed the wooden protection to Philza. 

Lifting the bow again, Wilbur turned to face Technoblade, and instead of a normal arrow, he lifted an arrow that was glittering with enchantment. "This may not be your last life, Technoblade, but if we cross paths again, it will be."

"You think you have the skill and weaponry to kill me, Wilbur?" Technoblade breathed heavily. 

Wilbur smiled. "No. But I have something that I'm fighting for.” Firing in rapid succession, Wilbur watched as Technoblade dogged the arrows. “I will come back again and again until I finish what I must-” Wilbur cut off, dogging out of the way of Technoblade’s crossbow bolt. “I don’t care if it takes years!” He fired another round of arrows, disappointed when only one arrow made it’s home between the plates of armor between Technoblade’s boots and metal pants. “If it keeps them safe, then so be it.”

Phil took a step forward, shield raised, and Wilbur growled at him. "I said, step back, Philza Minecraft. You have no claim to any of the children here." Wilbur took in a rattling breath, and winced slightly at the twinge of pain from his ribs. “You forfeited that right when you left them.” 

Glancing over his shoulder, Wilbur could see Tubbo holding back Tommy, though both had tears in their eyes. Ranboo looked torn and panicked. 

“You may have stabbed me, Philza Minecraft,” Wilbur shot another arrow at Technoblade. “And slayed the dragon.” The next arrow buried itself in the raised shield that Phil was holding. “But do not presume you are the hero,” Wilbur snarled, firing off another two arrows in rapid succession. 

Wilbur knew that he couldn’t keep this up forever. He was quickly running out of arrows. Aside from that, he was facing Technoblade and Philza Minecraft, he could barely handle  _ one _ of them when they were sparring in an open field. “Ranboo, I need you to get Tubbo and Tommy  _ out _ of here!” 

Tommy immediately began protesting, and Wilbur was unsuprised to hear Tubbo as well.

“Are you insane?!”

“No way! We’re not leaving you Wilbur!”

“Ranboo.” Wilbur looked over his shoulder, and made eye contact with the endermen hybrid. “Get them out of here.”

The sudden shift was easy to see. 

The kid’s green eye seemed to glow brighter, but more obvious was the sudden shriek that came from Ranboo as the endermen half seemed to grow like a shadow across his face. 

“Don’t you  _ dare _ wait for me!” Wilbur called as he turned back to fire off another round of arrows.

Ranboo’s only answer was a loud shriek that cut off, along with Tommy and Tubbo’s shouts, though it echoed for several moments in the crater. 

Wilbur didn’t need to glance back to know that the boys were gone.

“Hiding and aiding the escape of a criminal is illegal, Wilbur.” Technoblade called out, peering from behind a large boulder as he fired another crossbow bolt. 

Scoffing, Wilbur dogged and fired again, “You’re an  _ anarchist _ , Technoblade. The whole point is to have no laws!” He smirked when he heard the arrow make contact, and Technoblade let out another curse.

“Wilbur, you need to stop and listen!” Philza called out, advancing with the shield raised. “This is  _ insane _ !”

Oh how Wilbur  _ hated _ that word.

Firing a new volley of arrows, focusing solely on the man approaching, Wilbur snarled. “Oh really, Philza?! Really?!” He switched to his regular arrows, seeing as he had more, he could afford to miss. “ _ Insane _ ?! I’m not the one trying to hand children to a  _ warlord _ ! I’m not  _ feeding _ this war!”

Why was it that  _ everytime _ he tried to move past this, it felt like he was being dragged, feet first, back in? It was almost like a cosmic joke, and he just happened to be the punch line. 

“Pushing against Dream isn’t going to  _ change _ anything, Wil! You’re fighting a hopeless battle!” Philza was close enough that Wilbur could have jumped forward with his sword, if he hadn’t lost it.

Wilbur found himself laughing, he was going to start sounding manic with the amount of laughing he was doing, “That’s what everyone said when I tried to found L’Manberg.” Wilbur fired another arrow, but it only traveled two blocks before it slammed into Phil’s shield. “When I tried to make a  _ safe place _ for Tommy, and eventually Fundy. Everyone  _ said _ that it was impossible to fight against Dream, Philza Minecraft!”

That’s all this was, wasn’t it? Just one big war against Dream. Against a man whose first and most vital weapon was his mind. The influence Dream had over the entire course of L’Manberg’s short history had never waned, even if Wilbur had thought it did.

This was all just the same war, and Wilbur was tired of losing these battles. He hadn’t won the war, and he certainly hadn’t won any of the battles. The only victory that L’Manberg had ever won had been when Tommy traded his discs for their freedom. Even unwittingly, Tommy had shown that he knew Dream only wanted power over them. Or, maybe Tommy  _ had _ known. Wilbur wouldn’t put it past the kid. He was clever, far more clever than most gave him credit. 

Dream wanting Tommy under his control was only further evidenced by- Wilbur felt his breath catch in his chest -  _ everything _ that happened at Logstedshire. The guilt worming its way into his chest had to be put aside though.

Dropping the bow, Wilbur reached into his inventory to find something to fight Phil in close quarters, but only came up with a stack of sticks. 

Phil lowered the shield, and began speaking, almost placatingly. “Fighting against Dream has done nothing but cause you  _ more pain _ , Wil-”

But Wilbur found it didn’t put him at ease, not even a little. “Fighting against a tyrant and  _ losing _ doesn’t make me wrong, Philza, it makes  _ him _ despicable.” 

A swirl of ender particles swirled wildly around them, and Wilbur stumbled back in surprise as Ranboo reappeared with a loud ender shriek. 

“Ranboo?” He grabbed the kid’s shoulder. “What are you doing back?! I told you to-!”

The endermen hybrid cut him off with another shriek, and Wilbur realized that garbled English was coming out of the kid’s mouth. “I thought I could trust you, Phil. A-And Techno. How childish of me, right?” His hissed out words sounded bitter. 

Without any other warning, Ranboo teleported, taking Wilbur along with him. Although similar to the ringing of an explosion, the piercing shrieks of the enderchild was relieving. It was really only a heartbeat before they reappeared, but it seemed to stretch for a lifetime. 

They both landed with a stumble, kicking up sand. 

“Ranboo, as glad as I am you came to save me,” Wilbur turned the kid to face him, “I don’t  _ ever _ want you putting yourself in danger for me again. I want to keep you  _ safe _ .”

Ranboo nodded silently and dropped his head against Wilbur’s chest. “‘M sorry.” He whispered tiredly, “I jus’ wanted you t’ be safe.” 

Wrapping his arms around the kid, Wilbur buried his face in the split hair. “Don’t worry kid. I’m okay.” Looking up, Wilbur saw nothing but desert. “How far did you teleport us, Blink?”

“Far.” Ranboo nodded to himself. “Real far.”

Wilbur squinted, looking to see if he could spot anything in the sand. “Where’s Tubbo and Tommy?”

“Ver there.” Pointing with one hand behind Wilbur, Ranboo mumbled. “N’t sure h’w cl’se.” 

Turning around, still supporting the enderkid, Wilbur blinked in surprise. “Is that a flower biome?” The sand gave way to grass and beautiful blue orchids, and beyond that Wilbur could see even more brightly colored fauna. 

Ranboo hummed. “Wanted a desert next to a flower, right?” 

Looking back down at the kid in his arms, Wilbur laughed. “You’re amazing, Blink.” 

“Wilbur! Ranboo!” Tubbo’s voice called, and he quickly emerged from a patch of purple flowers just off to their left.

Tommy was close behind, still favoring his wounded leg. “Wilbur, I swear to Notch that if you’re hurt I’m going to kill you!”

Tubbo slammed into them first, hugging them so tightly that Wilbur was reminded of his partially healed ribs. “Hey, Tubbs. Glad that you’re alright.” He wheezed, and the kid quickly let go. 

“Sorry.”

Ruffling Tubbo’s hair with his free hand, Wilbur smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you are all safe.”

Storming up to them, kicking up a spectacular little cloud of sand, Tommy pointed an accusing finger at him. “You can’t say you’re going to keep us safe and then send us away, you undead jerk!

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you worry, Toms.” Wilbur smiled and pulled him in for a hug. 

Tommy scoffed, “Wasn’t worried.” But even as the kid said that, he was burying his face into Wilbur’s shoulder, clinging to his sweater. 

“Sure you weren’t.” Wilbur laughed, giving Tommy a squeeze. “Let’s make a bed for Ranboo here, he’s practically asleep on his feet.”

Nodding Tubbo quickly began pulling string out of his inventory, talking excitedly “He traveled so far! And he did it  _ twice _ !”

Tommy pulled away, and wrinkled his nose before sneezing once. Karma for kicking up all that sand. “He missed the second time.”

“Only by 20 blocks though!” Tubbo protested. “And-!” He continued brightly, “He teleported us to a desert biome right next to a flower biome!” Holding a hand full of string Tubbo frowned. “Oh. I don’t have anymore string. I don’t think this is enough to make a bed.”

This kid. If he hadn’t already sworn to protect these kids, he would have done it right then. 

“Don’t worry, Tubbo.” Wilbur shuffled through his inventory before pulling out half a stack of blue wool. “I think I’ve got enough.”

Tommy laughed. “Why do you have so much blue wool just laying around in your inventory, Wil? You’ve been trying to make a blanket or something? Or are you just trying to keep the blue thing going?”

Shaking a finger in playful warning, Wilbur said, “I’ll have you know that this is the only blue I’ve got on me, mister!”

Bursting into laughter, Tubbo doubled over, “Mister? You make yourself sound so old, Wilbur!

“Just place a crafting bench for me, Tubbo.” Wilbur rolled his eyes good naturedly. 

“Yes, sir!” Tubbo saluted, laughing as he searched his inventory.

Tommy reached up and messed with Wilbur’s hair, which nearly made him drop Ranboo. “Tommy, why are you touching my hair?”

Almost embarrassed, Tommy’s hand dropped back down to his side. “Oh, well, you said that the wool was the only blue you had on you, so I had to check to see if the blue was real.” 

Blue?

“There’s  _ blue _ in my hair?” Wilbur blinked.

Tubbo placed the crafting table down and he nodded. “Yep! Blue  _ and _ white! Though I think there’s only one streak of blue in your hair.”

Handing Tubbo the blue wool, Wilbur shifted Ranboo, and tugged on his hair, trying to see it. 

Once again Tommy started laughing. “Have you really not seen yourself in a mirror recently? You have  _ streaks _ of white in your hair right now.”

That was strange.

As ghostbur his hair had simply dulled in color if he remembered correctly, could this be because of the resurrection ritual, or whatever Philza had called it?

“It’s a bit like Ranboo’s hair, though his hair is a bit more decisive with its color palette.” Tubbo commented, fansioning together a blue bed on the crafting table. 

Tommy plopped down on the desert sand, looking bored out of his mind. 

For a moment Wilbur wondered why Tommy was staying still when he was clearly so bored, but then he noticed the trembling of Tommy’s fingers and the tension in his posture.

“Hey, Toms?” 

Tommy’s attention snapped to Wilbur in an instant.

“Could you get started on a wood or cobblestone house for us? We don’t want to get caught out here, stuck with the mobs.”

Scrambling to his feet, and coughing a little as some sand was kicked up again, Tommy agreed. “I’m going to build the best house you’ve ever seen!”

Wilbur translated that to mean cobblestone.

Tubbo set down the finished bed beside the crafting table. “I’ll go with him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”

Ignoring Tommy’s indignant squawk, Wilbur smiled at him. “Thank you, Tubbo. Be sure you don’t go too far.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

The sound of Tommy and Tubbo bickering faded but never fell completely silent, for which Wilbur was grateful for. Ranboo slept peacefully, and Wilbur could only think one thing. 

_ Protect the children. _

**Author's Note:**

> I blame Karmic for this monster that I wrote in one sitting - Protective Character go brrrr because I want to live vicariously through characters who want to protect the children. :)
> 
> ALSO - for Karmic - a reference for something similar to what Wilbur now looks like is here:  
> https://twitter.com/itsnotdessa/status/1347235996027547649/photo/1


End file.
